A Flemish Style Vermont Sour Red Ale fermented with brettanomyces yeast providing slight tartness with barnyard aromas and flavors. This recipe was the result of the collaborative efforts of VPB brewers both past and present in honor of their mentor and Master Brewer, Greg Noonan. The name (Toolah - Leez) comes from county Cork in Ireland where the Noonan clan originated. 6.1% ABV. Hits the style.

More User Reviews:

On tap at Mondiale 2011. Medium red colour, a little head. A good mouthfeel for the style, as they added significant malt. This also served to take down the sourness from what I would have expected. A nice beer,no poems to be written about it, I enjoyed it and found it good drinkability and would gladly have it again. (319 characters)

On tap @ the Vermont Pub & Brewery (Burlington, VT) on 2/19/11. Served in a snifter.

Pours a deep clear copper, with a thin covering of bright-white colored frothy head. This retains a nice creamy richness throughout, coating the sides with a robust cascade of lace that slowly slides down the sides of the glass. The aroma has a bright fruity tartness to it, along with some musty earthy notes. Sweet grains sit underneath. I mean the brett is putting off some fruity accents of maybe lemon or green apple but overall, the nose here just isn't that exciting.

The taste has a tart bite to it and mostly stays that way except for a touch of sourness on the backend. The tartness is coming across more along the cherry variety I guess but there could be some other biting fruit flavors coming across here as well. A not too strong sugary sweetness hangs on the edges of the profile and helps balance things out a tad. There is a definitely a bit of a funky earthy thing going on here to, which pretty much runs through the entire profile. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and relatively sharp on the palate with a lively feel that makes those tart flavors dance. I'm not sure of the ABV on this one but I didn't pick up any discernable alcohol flavors at all.

While I honestly hate to rip on any beer made in tribute to Greg Noonan (and especially one made at the VPB) but I thought that this beer was really boring. I mean I liked the look and feel here and it seemed like a Flemish Red to me and I could pick up the brett flavors but this overall just didn't pull together like I would have hoped for. Even my wife, who is a BIG fan of tart/sour beers repeatedly, remarked me to how bland this seemed considering the description. It was unfortunately a chore to get through the glass. Ah well. (1,797 characters)

Smells heavily of Brett. Lots of barnyard, hints of green apple and maybe some other fruits.

Taste is heavy on the funk but rather light. Unlike most Flanders-style beers, this one has a lot less of the cherry-like fruit flavors and lacks lactic sourness. Good showcase of Brett flavors, though. Flavor is kind of tart and finishes quickly and rather watery.

Mouthfeel is watery and could really use more carbonation. I think more lively carbonation would change the character of this one for the better and make it more refreshing.

Overall, this is an interesting Brett beer but not much of a Flanders. A good experiment, though, and I'm glad I tried it. It's always nice to go into a brewpub and see they're trying something different. (836 characters)

Dark gold color with a thin and quick to vanish head. I like my Flemish Reds more red. Smells more like strawberries rather than cherries. There's a nice wet straw rustic tone that carries from the aroma into the flavor. Flavor is a again more strawberries than cherry. Not nearly tart enough. (302 characters)

Pours a hazed copper color with little spots of off-white bubbles. Scent is quite light and made up of equal parts damp grain, wet earth and medicinal bandaid. Taste comes across as light when served cold, needs to warm before the funk comes across as rounded enough to be more than just musty and damp grain and earthy, light medicinal off notes blend with a touch of tart dark fruit. Light in body with ample carbonation, dry. This beer took a really long time to grow on me and was best opened up after time exposed to air and warmth, most of the time i spent wondering how bland this was. (592 characters)

A tribute to the renowned Greg Noonan. Poured into a snifter, a hazy rusty amber color with a fizzly, short-lived, white head. Aroma of grass, white wine, tart berries, with a touch of Brett funk. Taste followed the aroma; this beer wasn't overly fruity, but there was a definite berry tartness to it, lightly sour, a bit of grassy barnyard funk. Nothing too extreme or too hard on the senses / palate. Slight metallic twinge in the finish. Medium body, nicely drinkable, quite good overall. (527 characters)

On tap at the source.Pours a slightly cloudy deep amber color with a wisp of a head that was gone before I knew it. Smell is tart and sour with a hint of funk. Lemons and tart cherries with a barn yard earthy edge to it. Taste is tart fruit and lactic up front with an earthy funky flavor that comes in mid to finish. Slight plastic phenol pops up but quickly goes away thankfully. Medium body with a crisp level of carbonation and a tart acidic mouthfeel. Decent sour, but not world class. (491 characters)